Adam Silver urges WNBA, players'
union to work faster on CBA negotiations to avoid a work stoppage
[February 17, 2026]
By GREG BEACHAM
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has called on
the WNBA and its players' association to increase their urgency to
get a labor deal done in time for the new season to begin on
schedule in early May.
Silver didn't propose a firm deadline for a WNBA collective
bargaining agreement Saturday in his annual address during NBA
All-Star weekend, but he urged both sides to pick up the pace to
avoid a work stoppage.
“What I’d love to accomplish is sort of putting pressure on
everybody,” Silver said. “I’ve been through so many cycles of
collective bargaining, and often things tend to get done at the 11th
hour. We are awfully close to the 11th now when it comes to
bargaining.”
The WNBA delivered its latest proposal to the players' union a week
ago and offered small increases in revenue sharing along with
concessions on housing issues, a person with knowledge of the
negotiations told The Associated Press last week. The person spoke
on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the
discussions.
The league and the players are still not close on the main issue of
revenue sharing. The players want roughly 30% of the gross revenue,
while the league has offered over 70% of net revenue — after
expenses that include upgraded facilities, charter flights,
five-star hotels, medical services, security and arenas.
Silver has already said WNBA players will be getting a “big
increase” in pay from the next CBA.
“I’m encouraged there has been more back and forth over the past few
weeks,” Silver said. “I think there’s been more direct engagement
from players and team owners. I have not been at the table, but I’m
very involved behind the scenes. I want to play whatever role would
be most productive in getting a deal done. But again, I think we
need to now move toward the next level sense of urgency and not lose
momentum in terms of the amazing amount of progress we’ve seen in
women’s basketball.”
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NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a news conference at the
NBA basketball All-Star weekend Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in
Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Silver knows the clock is ticking on the WNBA's
offseason business as well as its regular-season schedule. The
negotiations have already delayed the expansion draft for the new
franchises in Portland, Oregon, and Toronto, and the WNBA draft is
scheduled for April 13.
“Training camps are scheduled to open roughly two months from now,”
Silver said. “We have to get not one, but two drafts done. We have
an expansion draft and a collegiate draft, and then we need to fit
in free agency. Plus whenever we shake hands on a collective
bargaining agreement, the lawyers have to go to work and memorialize
it.”
Union president Nneka Ogwumike recently said a strike is not
imminent, but it remains a possibility. Silver wants both sides to
do everything possible to prevent a momentum-draining stoppage of a
league coming off a 2025 season that featured record-smashing
attendance and television audiences.
“I think it’s unfortunate where we find ourselves right now, both
from the team standpoint and from the players,” Silver said. “We’re
coming off tremendous momentum in the WNBA. It’s not lost on anyone.
I feel like in the last few years in particular, the league has
turned a corner in terms of fan interest, commercial success,
popularity of players. All arrows are pointing up in terms of the
WNBA.”
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AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg contributed to this report.
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